Snowpocalypse: Lessons to be learned

What a mess. As we are too often
reminded, Mother Nature is a powerful force that oftentimes cannot be reliably
predicted and surprises us on occasion. Snow. Tornados.
Hurricanes. For employers and employees in Alabama, this past week shines
the spotlight on preparedness. Some common sense steps to take:

1.
The
safety of employees should always be number one. There were a number of
deaths and injuries around Alabama attributed to the weather. Looking
back, it may have been safer for employers to keep their places of business
open and available for any employees, and maybe others, who should could not make
it home safely.

2.
Employers
should have a disaster recovery plan. For those in south Alabama who lost
electricity, having a disaster recovery plan makes it easier to get back up and
running after losing power for several days. All employers should have a
plan in place to lower the risk of incurring a large amount of expenses and the
loss of irretrievable data, computer, paper, etc. Whether it be snow,
ice, lost electricity, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes or other natural/man-made
disasters, having a disaster recovery plan just makes sense.

3.
BYOD.
Bring your own devices (smart phones, tablets and laptops) to work is a hot
topic in employment law around the country. If you have such a policy, it
may make it easier to close your place of business earlier than others, send
employees home, and they have the ability to keep your business
operational.

4.
Communication.
Employers should implement a communication plan to keep in touch with
employees. Whether via auto text, auto dialing, emails, twitter, social media
or a combination of all of these, this is a useful way to keep open the line of
communications with your employees.

Practice pointer. If you
are an employer and you don't already have a disaster recovery plan, NOW is the
time to think about implementing one, and getting it done before the next
disaster strikes. Tomorrow may be too late.